First Year Players presents a witty, slightly potty-mouthed comedy

For a musical titled Urinetown, I was delighted to find that First Year Players' fall show was not, in fact, a succession of bathroom jokes told in song, but an offbeat, witty and ironic satire of musical theater itself.

The premise is purposefully ridiculous: In the near future, a worldwide drought has caused a catastrophic water shortage, and so private toilets have become outlawed. Instead, people must pay steep fees to use public bathrooms monopolized by a corrupt capitalist company. Other than a reoccurring metaphor involving baby bunnies killed in interesting new ways, much of the hilarity comes from the fact that the show not only breaks the fourth wall, it shatters it with enthusiasm. At the very beginning, our charismatic narrator, the corrupt cop Officer Lockstock, says to the street urchin Little Sally, "Nothing can kill a show like too much exposition," and Little Sally responds, "How about bad subject matter? Or a bad title, even? That could kill a show pretty good." The company then launches into the first number of the show, "Too Much Exposition." You get the idea.

Against a colorful backdrop of graffiti-covered walls, the cast members played their caricature roles with wonderful comedic timing and just the right amount of melodrama. Ryan Richardson, who played Bobby Strong, shone as the protagonist, with a deep, powerful voice ideal for giving impassioned speeches, singing hilarious gospel-style odes to freedom and screaming for extended periods of time. But I prefer Daniel Prillaman as Officer Lockstock, the unscrupulous narrator whose well-timed offhand comments and synopses of the play brought the show to life.

Although the premise of the play thumbs its nose at musical conventions, its musical numbers embrace them - to ridicule them. Ironically, it is perhaps musical junkies, those who would at first turn up their noses at the dubious premise, who might enjoy the show the most, as the varied and hilariously choreographed musical numbers parody the styles of everything from Les Miserables to Chicago to West Side Story. Not many musicals include line dancing, jazz hands and exaggerated ballet. And not only is the choreography hilarious, the songs themselves are extremely catchy. There's a reason that Urinetown took the Tony for Best Original Score. Some speculate that it would have taken Best Musical too, if it hadn't been for the title. Perhaps Little Sally was right.

Some words of caution, though: After watching the show, don't be surprised if your roommate reports you to Student Health counseling after listening to you chanting "Don't be the bunny," under your breath for two days.

First Year Players presents a witty, slightly potty-mouthed comedy